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Review Article

Common threads and separate strands in Anglo-Saxon England

Chris Fern
Fern Archaeology
Aumit House
Ampleforth
North Yorkshire, UK
(Email: cjrf100@aol.co.uk)

The three publications under review represent the labour of numerous specialists from different fields and institutions. The end result is analysis at a forensic level; all three demonstrate reporting of the highest standard. Combined they detail the findings from five cemeteries, and at Bloodmoor Hill the associated settlement. In each case post-excavation was supported by English Heritage and the expertise of its Centre for Archaeology. The reader is left in no doubt that justice has been done to the dead (and their houses), whose mute remains are made to speak. They set a clear benchmark for future Anglo-Saxon (early-medieval) cemetery and settlement studies. The illustration of archaeological reports is of course crucial, and in this respect too the reader will not be disappointed, with an abundance of excellent line drawings (for Mucking drawn over three decades) and plates in each.

Ipswich

Christopher Scull's Boss Hall and Buttermarket report concerns two early-medieval burial-grounds, both partially excavated by Suffolk County Council Archaeology Service between 1987 and 1990 in Ipswich, Suffolk. John Newman must be thanked in particular for saving Boss Hall by his chance observation of the ground-works. The four cremations and 24 inhumations at the cemetery mainly date to the sixth century, with typical Migration-period weapon-burials and brooch-and-bead costumes. Grave 93, however, appears to represent a late seventh-century reuse of part of the earlier burial-ground: this rich female inhumation contained, among other finds, a gold-and-garnet composite disc brooch and a sceatt of c. AD 690–700. This last artefact, a silver penny, belongs to the era of Ipswich's emporium (or wic), as does the Buttermarket cemetery.

Boss Hall served a small, river-based pre-Ipswich community. By contrast, Buttermarket was perhaps 'the major cemetery' (p. 313) serving the new emporium from the late sixth century, established on heathland to the north. Seventy-one graves were recorded. Ultimately, the burial-ground was incorporated into the expanding settlement, possibly from the early eighth century, just a generation or two after it had been closed to burial. Some of the graves were cut by rubbish pits and other features of this period and later, and the cemetery overlain by metalled roads and buildings. As Scull discusses, the emporium at the time was a central place for specialist production and trade, a hub for the continuing emergence of 'royal' power, first seen in the monumental funerary practices at Sutton Hoo, a short distance away.

Contrary to the disturbances to the Buttermarket which were to follow, considerable investment — 'complex and layered' — was made at the moment of the funeral, contributing to an overall 'burial tableau'. The dressed body with its grave-goods was possibly displayed for a time, as an expression of 'collective commemorative action' (pp. 286–8). The burial rites and grave-goods suggest a cosmopolitan society, with the strong possibility that some continental (Merovingian) individuals are represented among the dead. Most notable is grave 1306, probably the burial in a coffin of a male, with a broad seax in an elaborate sheath, glass palm cups, two spears and a buckle of Bern-Solothurn type. As is noted, such a high-status individual could have been directly involved in the control of overseas trade, with 'friends across the sea' if not actual family (p. 294). Significantly, feminine costume indicates little continental influence, raising interesting questions about the contrasting role (and limits) of women in a trade context as expressed through material culture. A few burials stand out as 'other', including a prone female (grave 1674), possibly two executions (graves 2365, 3871) — one, of a man and pig, perhaps represents a punishment for bestiality — and another with sword cuts to the head (grave 3871). A single example of a distinctive local burial practice is boat grave 5014, with parallels at the Snape cemetery in Suffolk.

Two further aspects of the report merit special comment. The original excavation and recording of the soil stains in the graves, twinned with investigative conservation of the organic materials (mineral preserved on metal artefacts), demonstrates significant use of wooden and textile grave linings and burial containers. At both Ipswich cemeteries there was also evidence for a tradition of covering the body with a layer of grasses. This is not without precedent at other Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, as will be shown below. Secondly, the chronological sequence for the Buttermarket cemetery is greatly enhanced by a programme of high-precision radiocarbon dating, modelled with Bayesian statistics. This indicates that burial at the site started around AD 595–640 (at 95% probability), and lasted for a period of 25–90 years (pp. 261–7).

Mucking

The three burial-grounds detailed in the other two publications vary greatly in size. Bloodmoor Hill has just 28 graves, against 64 at Mucking I, and 282 inhumations and 463 cremations at Mucking II. Mucking's two cemeteries, excavated in the 1960s–70s by Tom and Margaret Jones, together comprise one of the largest Anglo-Saxon population samples recovered to date; for this reason the report has been eagerly awaited. In addition the cemeteries have added significance because of their immediate association with an attendant settlement, published in 1993 (a rare circumstance shared with Bloodmoor Hill).

Mucking is located in Essex, on the north shore of the Thames estuary, a position of obvious strategic worth. It is no surprise, therefore, that interpretation favours it as a community of Free German 'federates' (pp. xxiii, 772–4) allied to a post-Roman leadership or, alternatively, of settled invaders. The material culture supports links with the Elbe-Weser region of Saxon north Germany, with the well-known and much published quoit-brooch style buckle from grave 117 (cemetery I) interpreted as a possible reward for service to a British elite. Both cemeteries are especially important for their fifth-century phase, with examples of applied saucer, equal-arm and supporting-arm brooches, late Roman buckle types, and some urns. Of the 59 weapon-burials from Mucking II, three (graves 534, 583 and 976) have early continental-style throwing axes. The case for a maintained 'Saxon' identity into the sixth century is borne out in particular by the high incidence of applied saucer brooches (29 from the cemeteries combined), the highest from any site.

Seriation analysis of the inhumation graves was undertaken to establish their chronological phasing. They range from the early fifth century (Phase 1ai) to the seventh century (Phase 2), with a significant proportion (29 graves) in the earliest phase. By contrast, the more numerous cremations receive far less attention, being considered 'unsuitable' for such analysis (p. 623); the datable grave-goods found with them were far fewer and more fragmented. For this reason, traditionally in Anglo-Saxon studies, the decoration and form of ceramic vessels is used instead to infer dating. An alternative method employed at Mucking was to use the system of pottery fabric types established for the 1993 settlement study as the primary indicator of date for the cremation vessels. Grass-tempered fabrics, the most frequent at the cemetery, are allocated a sixth to seventh century date range. The results, shown in Table 13.5, indicate a high proportion of cremations (42 per cent) assigned to Phase 1biii/2, the late sixth to seventh century (p. 727). This compares to 16 per cent of inhumations in the same phase. The implication is for a significant late phase of cremation at cemetery II. This would be a remarkable finding, given the prevailing opinion that the rite in England was in general decline two generations before this time. However, this finding is contradicted by the statement (p. 717) that: 'In Phase 1biii/2 non-seriated graves [i.e. all the cremations] encompass a broader span of the sixth to seventh centuries' [i.e. the range of the grass-tempered fabric]. Logically, this could mean that the majority of Phase 1biii/2 cremations in fact belong earlier in the sixth century (where they would be expected). Distribution of the dated graves in cemetery II suggests the burial-ground developed from multiple foci (as is often the case), though the inhumations are particularly mixed in their orientation.

As at Ipswich, bone survival was poor in the acidic soil, but conversely resulted in the phenomenon of 'soil silhouettes' (p. 12. These are stains resulting from the body and other grave structures, such as coffins, in some cases surviving as three-dimensional forms. Analysis suggests multiple forms of tree-trunk coffins, as well as possible pillows (suggesting the dead may have been laid out as if asleep). As at Ipswich too, in a number of cases cut grasses or straw had been used to cover the deceased, in a final ritual before the grave was backfilled.

Bloodmoor Hill

At Bloodmoor Hill, Carlton Colville, Suffolk, a small and short-lived cemetery of the mid to late seventh century was founded at the centre of an established settlement. It too is phased by a radiocarbon dating programme, with Bayesian modelling, suggesting use over as little as 20–50 years (at 68% probability). Unlike the other cemeteries, the graves were laid out formally in rows, aligned roughly W–E. The cemetery belongs to an era of 'ideological and social realignment' (pp. 424–6), a period known as the 'Final Phase'. It is characterised by a decrease in grave-good provision and restriction of traditional modes of funerary expression to the graves of elites, believed to have occurred prior to the full move to churchyard interment. At Bloodmoor Hill, of the ten graves that did contain artefacts, males were buried with just a simple knife or tool, females with dress-jewellery and chatelaines or girdle items. In grave 23, a 'female' was inhumed with a garnet disc-brooch, possibly concealed in a bag — suggesting perhaps some anxiety about the expression of this costume element. By contrast, in grave 11, a silver necklace with a cruciform pendant was openly worn, lending weight to the argument that this may have been the cemetery of an early Christian community. Female identity was expressed most strongly, ultimately tempting the authors to propose that the cemetery may have contained the remains of an early female religious population, with lay attendants.

Indeed, the evidence indicates a significant settlement that became increasingly centralised and organised over time. The site, of over 30 000m², was excavated by Cambridge Archaeology Unit between 1998 and 2001. The settlement spans the period c. AD 500–700, with artefact dating reinforced again by a healthy series of radiocarbon dates, with Bayesian modelling. Nine hall-type structures and 38 sunken-floored buildings (SFBs or Grubenhäuser) were found. As well as evidence for buildings, extensive waste deposits revealed what was manufactured, imported and consumed, and how it was disposed of. In particular, considerable evidence for smithing was found, with an increase in the activity over time. The 153kg of metalworking waste recovered is twice the amount from a much larger site at West Heslerton, North Yorkshire, and over three times what was found at the Mucking settlement. Also unusual was the high proportion of cattle remains, recorded throughout the site's occupation. In a period when sheep was the main meat animal, this abundance of cattle points to the possibility that Bloodmoor Hill was an 'early estate centre', provisioned by an 'on the hoof' system of food renders (pp. 429–34). Initially, the authors suggest, it may have acquired its wealth from trading its manufactured surplus, but in its later stages may have been the base of an aristocratic family or perhaps a religious community — the burial-ground installed at its centre a permanent reminder of the controlling group (religious or secular). The settlement's end may have been caused by the systematic establishment elsewhere, in the course of the seventh century, of new centres of specialist production, including monasteries (minsters) and emporia. Alternatively, the coincident end of both settlement and cemetery, may suggest that the death of a head of household was the catalyst.

The excellent analyses in the book are the product, in the first instance, of a structured research agenda, adopted from the start of site works, which included the study of site formation processes. Key to this is Jess Tipper's doctoral dissertation of 2004 on the Anglo-Saxon Grubenhaus. It, and this volume, establishes firmly that the archaeological character of SFBs was not a direct result of their occupation (by material dropping into the large pit base through a suspended floor), but derived from the secondary or tertiary redeposition of midden material placed in them at their abandonment. Combined with the fortunate preservation of surface midden deposits on the site, as well as rubbish pits, their purpose, disuse sequence and chronology is explored. In contrast to the posthole structures on the site, they seem to have served a distinct function as buildings for manufacturing, including metalworking, textiles, food processing and other crafts. The authors speculate that the SFBs could have served separate household or community units, each specialising in particular crafts that were assigned within 'activity zones', and each living in one of the post buildings (p. 427).

In sum

All three sites show how material culture shaped relations at this period within communities and beyond. At Mucking, certain brooch types signal an association with Saxon 'regional areas of commonality' (pp. 684–5) in the fifth to sixth centuries, with status divisions within the cemetery suggesting a broad degree of equality (at least in death) across much of local society. By contrast, in the seventh-century Buttermarket and Bloodmoor Hill burial-grounds, commonality appears replaced by individual statements of identity, linked with the desire to maintain control of local resources. At Bloodmoor Hill that authority appears to be local, but at Buttermarket Merovingian tradesmen may have competed too for influence (and perhaps local brides) in a cosmopolitan setting. In a number of ways these books represent fresh approaches to well-known issues, such as the function and form of the Grubenhaus, and for chronology the use of radiocarbon-date modelling. There is much in these publications to occupy the present and future enquiries of Anglo-Saxonists, students and scholars alike, making them essential additions to the bookshelf.

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